[Android Head Unit] Steering Wheel controls (Next, Previous, Pause/Play) don't work on Spotify Lite

[dariusL1]

Plan

Premium

Country

Romania

Device

Lenovo D1 Car Head Unit (Dedicated Aftermarket Tablet)

Operating System

Android 10

My Question or Issue

Hello devs and community,

Maybe I am not the only one, hope so, to experience such an issue with buttons from my car's steering wheel while using the official Spotify Lite application, from Google Play, not a random APK found online, installed on my car's Android Head Unit. 

Using the main Spotify app, I had no issues with those controllers (I wanted to still use that app, but, since the last update, it crashes on launch, however this is another story), but within Lite version, those buttons do not function at all. Maybe it's a bug or it's intended, yet I think this could be patched, right?

Another scenario using the BT (Bluetooth) Audio preinstalled app on the Head Unit. When connecting my iPhone XS Max with iOS 16 on it (maybe this info is useful), using the main Spotify app install on the phone, the controlls are working just fine. I didn't installed the Lite version on the iPhone as well to test this, but I think it should function the same way. Also, FYI - the car is a Subaru Forester SH (third generation), might be helpful as well .

This is my main issue, because I really need those buttons to be responsive while using the Lite version. It's enough wanting to pause a song while driving (it is not safe to do this, but for the sake of the example, make it an emergency move), moving your eyesight to the head unit, as opposed to knowing the position of the buttons on the steering wheel, not focus on the road for just one second and be fatal to someone or cause a terrible accident. Of course, this might be an exaggeration, but it also could be a plausible example. Hope to hear from anyone involved in the Spotify team or others that might have an answer with a solution!

Kind thoughts,
one user with optimism 😃

[Dian]

Hey @dariusL1,

Thanks for posting in the Community.

The described behavior is indeed intended and not a bug. The Spotify Lite app doesn't support external navigation buttons. We suggest you use the normal app to be able to use the steering wheel buttons.

Could you share more info on the normal app crashing on your Android head unit? What's the version you've installed? Our best bet here would be to help you with this issue. A short recording of the app crashing on start would help us out as well.

Keep us posted,

Cheers!

[dariusL1]

Hi Dian,

Thanks for the clarification!
Regarding the main/normal app, it's the latest version available on Google Play, 8.7.78.378, I think, updated on 1st of November. I tried installing, reinstalling, but with no success. Even trying the this method for Android and still crashing. I captured a video in which I have the above version, cleared data & cache and then open the app. I also wanted to use this website for an older version , but I don't know how trusted these APKs are and wanted to hear from you first.

Hope to hear from you soon,

Darius

[AlejaR]

Hey @dariusL1,

Thanks for your reply and for the info shared 🙂

In this case, can you try to login in with your email and your password? If you don't remember your password, or perhaps you haven't set one yet, you can reset or create it here. This could be related to the inconvenience reported in this thread. Give it a try and let us know how it goes.

On another note, keep in mind you shouldn't post links to older or unofficial versions of the Spotify app, since this is against our Community Guidelines. All users should only download the app from our official website. That being said, we also edited your last post. Since these are unofficial versions of the app, we suggest you avoid them.

Lastly, is this happening over WiFi? 3G/4G? Both? Do you notice any difference if you switch the internet red you're using?
 

Keep us in the loop!

[dariusL1]

Hi AlejaR,

[Edit] Not even with the normal login is functioning at all, instant crash. :/. Don't know what to do anymore...

Thanks for letting me know about that website.

For this version, I didn't try the normal login. For an older verison, I tried that, but with the same outcome. I only use 4G, only mobile data from my telecom provider, because I have a SIM card for that Head Unit. I can't say what is the behaviour for that scenario, because I never tried it nor I will. So yeah, I'll try the normal login, see the result and keep you posted.

Cheers,
Darius

[OscarDC]

Hey @dariusL1,

Thank you for keeping in contact.

Hopefully, the regular login using the email and password will do the trick. However, if after trying the other login the issue persists, would you mind trying to connect the device to a Wi-Fi network to see if it makes any difference? This will give us a better look at the issue.

We'll be waiting for your response!

[dariusL1]

Hi OscarDC,

[Edit] I tried with to connect to a Wi-fi network, instant crash. Also, after doing this, again clean data & cache, trying with mobile data instead..instan crash. Yeah, I am a little bit hopeless right know, I hope it is a bug and with a future release and/or update, it's going to be patched, but yeah, Spotify Lite is the alternative up until then.

I can try, but like I said in the last reply to @AlejaR, I am NOT intending to use the any Wi-Fi feature because I have a SIM card with mobile data (paying for it, monthly, also), so it is pointless for me to use the Wi-Fi, of my Head Unit, to connect to my phone's hotspost (which is a separate cost) or whatever network, that's the whole idea for the SIM card and the Head Unit => to use my phone's battery just for calls via Bluetooth. Maybe this will make someone understand the situation a little bit better and hope to hear more from you. 😃

Thanks!

[OscarDC]

Hey @dariusL1,

Thank you for keeping in contact and for the info shared.

We really appreciate your reports and patience while we were looking into this. However, this sounds like a specific setup issue and we weren't able to reproduce this on our end. In this case, we'd recommend keeping the app and firmware of the car radio unit up to date so you don't miss any updates.

We apologize if this may cause any inconvenience. In case you have any additional questions, don't hesitate to ask.

[dariusL1]

Now it's working again, the Spotify main app, I don't know from which update, but from the last official one, I had no issues. I'll mark this thread as resolved just so everybody knows that from the latest update it is fixed.